Welcome to Move & Groove 1 guided by Coni Belgareto. This class is the first in our Move & Groove series: a group of short dynamic workouts designed to warm up the entire body for class, rehearsal or performance.

The class will begin with Spot and Stretch, an exercise that uses the Fusion Ball to train the spotting technique essential for pirouettes. The exercise teaches the whipping action of the head to support clean, dynamic turns. In Twist and Core, we will be working the deep abdominals and obliques, using the mini-loop band to challenge the dancer’s core strength as we train their coordination and rhythm.

To help younger dancers with the activation of the underneath leg in skipping, we will perform the exercise Technical Skipping. This exercise uses the ProBall and Fusion Ball to bring awareness to the standing leg, stretching through the knee and metatarsals as the dancer isolates the hip flexor to raise the leg. This is also a brilliant exercise for developing core strength as the ball will respond to movements in the upper body and hips, promoting the activation of the deep abdominals to stabilise.

Our final exercise Fusion Balance is highly beneficial to training the activation of the deep rotators and hip flexors to support extensions. Dancers should keep the weight over the ball of the foot to facilitate the pivoting action, enhancing the mind-muscle connection essential to balancing in the centre.

Tips

Promote rhythm — Dancers should move in time with the music.

Remind dancers to use their core — the ProBall and Fusion Ball will help this activation.

Encourage dancers to keep their pelvic alignment— have them place their hands on their hips to check.